Activists demanded today that the Detroit Public Schools Community District replace water pipes at John R. King Academy in the wake of the state fining the district and school $4,000 for not providing employees with safe water.

The district, however, said in a joint statement with the Detroit Health Department that their updated testing has found the water to be safe, after high levels of copper were detected in 2016.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the fine June 20, saying the district had violated a state requirement that employers "ensure potable water is provided in all places of employment, for drinking, washing of the person, cooking, washing of foods, washing of cooking or eating utensils, washing of food preparation or processing premises and personal service rooms."

Water testing completed in 2016 found high levels of copper in the water in some school fixtures, Jason Moon, a spokesman for the MIOSHA, said in an e-mail.

"Employees were provided potable water for drinking, but not for washing, cooking and other purposes," Moon said.

The state agency, he said, conducted an inspection from March 30 to May 31 in response to an employee health complaint.

In the statement, the district said it installed a DiHydro system at the school that "coats pipes with a silicate that prevents the leaching of lead, copper and bacteria when the system is in use." The water was retested in March 2017 and there were no high levels of copper or lead, the statement said.

Moon said MIOSHA reviewed the 2017 results. The district was fined solely for the 2016 violation.

The complaint with MIOSHA was filed by teacher Katarina Brown, who attended a news conference outside the school this afternoon.

"I love the kids. I love the staff. It's my purpose — to save the next generation," Brown said, explaining why she's become so vocal on the issue. Brown taught at King until, she says, she was involuntarily transferred to another school. She said the transfer is in retaliation for raising concerns about the water and earlier this year filed a lawsuit against the district about the retaliation.

Brown said the high copper levels affected her health. She said she developed rashes and tested for having high levels of copper in her system.

Nicole Conaway, a Detroit teacher who was the main speaker at the news conference, said teachers at other schools who are concerned about lead and copper levels should step up and file complaints with the state.

"This is not acceptable," Conaway said.

She said that in addition to demanding that the pipes be replaced, the activists demand that the district reinstate Brown back to her teaching job at King.

Several King students attended the rally.

The students said they're unable to wash their hands at the school, instead having to use hand sanitizer. And they said the school isn't providing them with enough drinking water.

"This is really not fair to all of us," said Romeo Moore, 13, a rising eighth-grader. "We should be able to drink out of the water fountains. Why do we have to go through this as children?"